Comparison of Sky Suite to MSC YC Suite Experience

[PRH]

Comparison of Celebrity Sky Suite and MSC Yacht Club Experience

 

We sailed on the Celebrity Summit in December 2018 in Sky Suites (B2B with two different cabins) and MSC YC Divina in January 2019.  Basically the same Caribbean itineraries so won’t go into that except to say that we had over $1,400 in OBC on Celebrity so did take a Celebrity excursion in many cases.  Will also say that we are Elite (soon to be Elite+) so there are attendant benefits like free laundry that do come into play but not overly so.  Obviously things like food and service are entirely subjective.  We enjoy good food and wine but don’t need lots of care and attention.  Celebrity has jaded us with regard to ship board entertainment so we don't go anymore--probably regret not giving MSC entertainment a try as we heard good things.

 

Where basically the same

Welcome bottle of sparkling wine (MSC was a nice bottle of Asti Spumanti) and daily fruit

Butler (more on this later)

Exclusive restaurant

Exclusive Club/Lounge offering comfortable seating, quiet atmosphere to converse or read, entertainment

Pillow menu

Afternoon Tea in exclusive lounge

24/7 room service available

Priority embarkation and debarkation (walked off the ship and given priority)

Tub with shower

Premium drink package (usable throughout ship)

TV choices very limited and expensive

 

Where Celebrity Shines

·         Quality of meat and ingredients in Lumanae; fish was lovely and well prepared

·         Embarkation was smooth—entered, registered, and directed onto the ship—the CD took us to Michael’s Club and introduced us to Pavel, the MC Concierge.

·         Medium rare request is honored in Lumanae

·         Efficient service in Lumanea—no long waits or surprising intervals and hot food was hot and cold food was cold; our waiter, Gide, was outstanding and attentive

·         Sommelier in Lumanae (though seemed to be also working in MDR)

·         Free unlimited internet for suites; can use ilounge for computers and printer

·         Sheets

·         Toiletries (Bulgari)

·         Prompt service in Michael’s Club for drinks

·         Muster is organized (don’t underestimate this!)

·         Comfortable sun loungers (even though not exclusive)

·         Full size beach towels

·         Communication from captain and crew

·         Balcony was larger (though no footstools on Summit)

·         When debarkation was delayed due to a port strike, there was LOTS of communication by way of notices and announcements.  Captain and CD are to be commended for how it was handled.

 

Where MSC Yacht Club Shines

·         Access to YC with seapass; seapass also operates two elevators for expedited service

·         YC tent at embarkation:  met by a butler, luggage tagged and you are walked through security to the YC terminal lounge where there is champagne, fruit juices and cookies/pastries

·         Top Sail Lounge is at the bow with lots of windows—the views are spectacular!

·         Top Sail Lounge has snack buffet all day—changed out by the time of day and full bar service

·         One Pool area with reserved pool, hot tubs and sundeck for YC only so plenty of loungers

·         One Grill and Bar on YC pool deck with “to your sun lounger service”; umbrella covered tables also available.  Lifeguard on duty at pool.

·         Le Muse open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day whether in port or not

·         Mini-bar is included—sodas, bottled fruit juices, vodka, gin, scotch plus salty nibbles like nuts and refreshed twice daily

·         Daily full newspaper delivered to your door each morning (choice of WP, WSJ, NYP plus one more that I can’t remember).  These are real newspapers as opposed to a daily one page summary

·         Two large bottles each of Pellegrino and still water in room daily; can request more

·         Cabin (16034) had plenty of storage—couldn’t even use it all

·         Towels are to die for—thick and thirsty

·         Butler walks you off for excursions (MSC or your own) and debarkation—to the head of the line

·         Free access to the thermal spa

·         Pre-purchase of laundry:  $20 for 10 items washed, dried and ironed

·         Status match with other cruise companies, hotels, etc.  Be sure to do this before you make a reservation as this can give you a nice discount on your cruise--up to 5%.  We qualified as Black so special parties, chocolate ships, free specialty dinners, etc.

·         Includes free gelato (and it is excellent) at the two different gelato shops

·         Pastas made on board and risottos!  Outstanding, really!  Pizza in Eater-ly is also outstanding.

·         Breads and desserts are great

·         The music on the ship is at a reasonable level---including at the pool

 

Where Celebrity didn’t match up

·         Butler was visible but there was no offer of walking off the ship to avoid the crowds; in addition, our butler the first week was barely visible.  Other than making a reservation and making sure that we had bottled water in our cabin, not much else was done.

·         If internet and/or laundry is not a benefit, Celebrity is VERY expensive compared to MSC

·         The Lumanae sommelier was either very new or not good because he couldn’t recommend wines beyond the menu recommendations.  Nor was he creative about possibilities.  Typically, we got one pour of wine and then he disappeared.  Once the bottle was left on our table so we could refresh.  Rarely saw him toward the end of the meal to order an after dinner drink.

·         This is not a biggie but was a real surprise:  the only metal surface for magnets was the cabin door.  I like to post my calendar and excursion documents.  This may change after refurbishing but it was a surprise.

·         Tub/shower is difficult to step into and out of because floor levels are not equal.  There is a full shower curtain and you can hold onto the counter but I was waiting to slip on a wet marble floor.

·         The nibbles in Michael’s Club are really pretty pathetic.  At least on our cruise, they switched from leaving them in the cabin to serving them in MC.  Either step it up or forget it!

·         Music levels are WAY too loud!  You can’t carry on a conversation without shouting.

·         Way understaffed!  One bartender in Martini Bar???  Seemed like the crew were overwhelmed and not enough people to do the work.

 

Where MSC didn’t match up

·         Communication is a challenge.  Butlers were supposed to walk us from the YC Terminal Lounge up to the Top Sail Lounge on the ship.  This did not happen.  USA rules won’t allow ship butlers to go beyond the sea pass kiosk.  Embarkation was delayed by over two hours (with no communication why) so by the time embarkation started, there were 75 YC passengers ready to board.  One butler led us all through the terminal and up to the ship kiosk and left.  There was a group of ship butlers standing to the side and talking amongst themselves but no one seemed to be aware that this large group was YC.  A group of ten or so of us walked onto the ship only to be faced with crew who had no idea where YC was or how to get there!  Finally, a woman in a blue uniform came by and showed us to the forward elevator bank for YC.  Once we got to the YC Concierge, she was busy on the phone and not available for questions.  It was late (2pm+) and we had no idea how to get to Le Muse (at the aft) for lunch—we looked at the ship map and found our way.  Not exactly the welcome we anticipated!  In addition, the ship left port three hours late.  So much for sail away!  There was also a delay at debarkation—again, no communication or reasons.

·         Quality of meat, fish and ingredients was OK but not great.  Stopped ordering fish because it was fishy and often overcooked.  Meat was “choice” grade and often on the tough side.  Vegetables were overcooked and sometimes almost cool/cold.

·         An order of medium rare came repeatedly as medium to medium well.  Portion sizes were huge.

·         Ossobucco and Prime Rib were served with heavy gravy on top despite the menu saying a jus, for examples of disconnects.

·         Food often came out warm rather than hot.  We began to suspect that side dishes came from the buffet (deck below) as when we walked through the buffet after dinner, exactly the same thing on the lines!

·         No dedicated sommelier.  She was in Le Muse only two nights out of ten.  Le Muse felt very disorganized—you had no idea who was who.  Wine came from almost anyone.  Tried all the red wines offered—if you like your reds less than full bodied, you will be a happy camper.  Thankfully a Cruise Critic member suggested Obernon Cabernet—we requested it and there was a bottle for us each evening after we spoke with multiple managers.

·         The eggs at the grill were consistently overcooked.  It was also difficult to coordinate hot eggs and hot toast as the buffet doesn’t lend itself well to that.  The waffles are the frozen kind.

·         The snack selections at the Top Sail were changed out a number of times a day:  continental breakfast, light snacks, tea, and nibbles for evening but were exactly the same every day.  They were excellent but after ten days, you get a little tired of the same thing.

·         Internet (we received 3MB as a perk) is by MB rather than unlimited and limited to two devices—so no signing on and off to use another device.  I was offered a $27 upgrade to 7MB when I signed on for the first time which allowed 4 devices.  Took it!

·         Minimal sea day activities.  Given the young demographic of the ship—many young adults, children and 40’s—plus the international part, it would be challenging.  Lots of dancing and fitness activities though.

 

 

Overall impressions:

 

We like Celebrity but their pricing and stale itineraries are beginning to get beyond the value for us.  Where they excel against MSC is in food and drink service.  Food on Celebrity is far superior to MSC—especially comparing the two exclusive restaurants.  MSC is price competitive though if food is not a big thing for you.  MSC YC is the only way to go on their larger ships.  Kids sail free on MSC so the ship beyond YC is busy and chaotic.  We enjoyed the ship on several port days when we were able to walk around without the crowds.  We booked two more cruises on MSC and are getting ready to book another.

 

Much more I could have said but this is already long.  If you have questions, please ask.  We were on the Summit Dec 1-15, 2018 and Divina Jan 10-20, 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gotcha3]

We sailed Divina Yacht Club as well. Pretty much the same conclusions. We though that with an Italian company, food and wine would be over the top....not so. Wine was mediocre at best, generally food left alot to be desired. People rave about the pizza, but not us, maybe because we're from Chicago and pizza is an artform. Can't stand "limp" crust. Yacht club is the only way to go with them as the rest of the ship is a cattle car. Nice vibe in the Yacht Club, and the private pool area is outstanding. If they match you to Black, you get a dinner for 2 in Eataly which was the exception to the food complaints. The portions there were huge and the real lobster was a sight to see. Again, wine choices were uninspired and generally inexpensive (I'd call them cheap). They do offer a military discount of 10% which was nice, though it cannot be added to any other discounts. Yacht club cabins were about the same size as Aqua on Celebrity, though laid out nicer with a true walk in closet. Drinks in the Yacht Club are included even in other venues on the ship. Outside of the Yacht Club, the ship always seemed crowded. The smoking lounge with full bar was a nice touch.

[mafig]

I've been in the Yacht Club on Divina and also on Seaside.  I hope you try YC on Seaside, I think it's even nicer.

PRH, when you said you  were "jaded" by the entertainment on Celebrity, you didn't mean in a good way, did you.?  I think Celebrity's entertainment is so boring.  MSC has some interesting shows.

 

I like both lines, but am truly a fan of the Yacht Club.

[George C]

Thanks for comparison, doing both celebrity sky and celebrity suite in March then seaside yacht in November, looking forward to both.

[Fogfog]

4 hours ago, gotcha3 said:

We sailed Divina Yacht Club as well. Pretty much the same conclusions. We though that with an Italian company, food and wine would be over the top....not so. Wine was mediocre at best, generally food left alot to be desired. People rave about the pizza, but not us, maybe because we're from Chicago and pizza is an artform. Can't stand "limp" crust. Yacht club is the only way to go with them as the rest of the ship is a cattle car. Nice vibe in the Yacht Club, and the private pool area is outstanding. If they match you to Black, you get a dinner for 2 in Eataly which was the exception to the food complaints. The portions there were huge and the real lobster was a sight to see. Again, wine choices were uninspired and generally inexpensive (I'd call them cheap). They do offer a military discount of 10% which was nice, though it cannot be added to any other discounts. Yacht club cabins were about the same size as Aqua on Celebrity, though laid out nicer with a true walk in closet. Drinks in the Yacht Club are included even in other venues on the ship. Outside of the Yacht Club, the ship always seemed crowded. The smoking lounge with full bar was a nice touch.

🙃🙃

Have no idea if MSC is putting out real pizzas... however

PLEASE don't put Chicago pizza and REAL PIZZA (made in Italy--- or made in true Italian style)  in the same sentence.

Having lived/worked and traveled in Italy extensively ----I can promise you the deep dish "chicago"  is NOT pizza...

Real pizza  is cooked within 90 sec in wood fired ovens over 800 degrees ...  Thin crust and is nothing like what Americans think of for pizza.

American tourists have no clue about real pizza and are often shocked to find out real pizza is not deep dish nor Dominos...

 

 

 

THANK YOU PRH for the comparison!! We have wondered whether we should try MSC in YC.

We have friends who have sailed MSC in the Med and HATED it...saying the "taxi" service between ports--sailings of 1-2 days between Med ports was a deal breaker. They didn't sail in YC and absolutely hated MSC compared to X.

 

We have other friends (he was exec in other cruise line) that tell us the only way we'd like to sail MSC is YC. 

 

[Texed]

5 hours ago, PRH said:

Comparison of Celebrity Sky Suite and MSC Yacht Club Experience

 

  The waffles are the frozen kind.       

 

Well, that disqualifies MSC as a line we would go on. 😎

[vermonter16]

Thanks for the review and comparison!  

[clskinsfan]

Great comparison. Thanks for sharing. Basically from what I take away is if you are a foodie dont even try MSC. If you are a stickler for service than MSC may be the thing for you. We are foodies. So Celebrity should be our gig.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thank you for you detailed comparison, really appreciate you talking the time to jot down your thoughts! 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

🙃🙃

Have no idea if MSC is putting out real pizzas... however

PLEASE don't put Chicago pizza and REAL PIZZA (made in Italy--- or made in true Italian style)  in the same sentence.

Having lived/worked and traveled in Italy extensively ----I can promise you the deep dish "chicago"  is NOT pizza...

Real pizza  is cooked within 90 sec in wood fired ovens over 800 degrees ...  Thin crust and is nothing like what Americans think of for pizza.

American tourists have no clue about real pizza and are often shocked to find out real pizza is not deep dish nor Dominos...

 

Pizza was allegedly invented in Napoli, but it was perfected in New York [one style] and Chicago [a different, but equal, style].  I have never had pizza in Italy that measured to up to NY or Chicago standards.  NYers and Chicagoans know that you don't eat Pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut – it has to be a hold-in-the-wall place named 'Angelos' or something like that!

[Nymich]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Pizza was allegedly invented in Napoli, but it was perfected in New York [one style] and Chicago [a different, but equal, style].  I have never had pizza in Italy that measured to up to NY or Chicago standards.  NYers and Chicagoans know that you don't eat Pizza from Dominos or Pizza Hut – it has to be a hold-in-the-wall place named 'Angelos' or something like that!

Agree!

[groryjm]

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison👏. I have to say food is important to us so I think we will stick to X😎

[mafig]

We are originally from New Jersey and liked the pizza on MSC.  It even has the blister bubbles on it.

 

There's no "taxi" service on MSC in the Caribbean.  

[grandgeezer]

We've been on MSC Seaside (Yacht Club) and numerous Celebrity ships but never in a suite as it is outrageously over priced. We have been in Aqua class though. We felt the food was slightly better in the Yacht Club restaurant than Blu or the MDR on Celebrity. We never got any food that was cold or uneatable. We have another 14 day cruise on the Seaside scheduled for October. We haven't been on Celebrity in over two years and none scheduled, due to cost and overall product.

[Fogfog]

On 1/27/2019 at 11:33 AM, grandgeezer said:

We've been on MSC Seaside (Yacht Club) and numerous Celebrity ships but never in a suite as it is outrageously over priced. We have been in Aqua class though. We felt the food was slightly better in the Yacht Club restaurant than Blu or the MDR on Celebrity. We never got any food that was cold or uneatable. We have another 14 day cruise on the Seaside scheduled for October. We haven't been on Celebrity in over two years and none scheduled, due to cost and overall product.

 

Revisiting this thread... we just finished a TA in Aqua...and have booked a B2B on MSC YC Meraviglia.

Looking fwd to it. 

We found Blu service to be much better than MDR and expect that should be the same for YC and a smaller dining venue

I did speak with exec chef re overcooked fish in Blu and he told me to order it rare. Solved the problem

Will try ordering things rare in YC

 

 

 

[chemmo]

On 1/27/2019 at 9:13 AM, groryjm said:

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison👏. I have to say food is important to us so I think we will stick to X😎

 

Agree! We have been looking at trying another line but I don’t think MSC is our style after reading several reviews. Dining is very important to us, it is our favourite way to spend a large portion of the evening...

 

We were moored opposite a very large MSC ship in Malta last year (Seaside?). The music in the afternoon was ridiculously  loud. Not only did it spoil our enjoyment of our balcony it must have been heard in all of the bars and restaurants in the port area. 

[grandgeezer]

I've been on the Seaside once, and we are going again in October. We stayed in the Yacht Club Deluxe Suite the first time and are booked in it again for the second. We thought the food was very good and always at the right temperature. We can't compare it to Celebrity suites because we'll probably never try it based on price alone. Both times we looked at pricing on Celebrity. Both times it was well over $100 p.p. per day, just to get a Sky Suite. I can't imagine anything that would make the extra expense worth it. Both cruises were 14 days times $100+ per day, times two passengers, comes to $2,800+ per cruise.

[4774Papa]

Nice review, thanks.

 

We have friends that did MSC (not the Yacht Club) and said never again.  They said the food was AWFUL.

[Fogfog]

7 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

I've been on the Seaside once, and we are going again in October. We stayed in the Yacht Club Deluxe Suite the first time and are booked in it again for the second. We thought the food was very good and always at the right temperature. We can't compare it to Celebrity suites because we'll probably never try it based on price alone. Both times we looked at pricing on Celebrity. Both times it was well over $100 p.p. per day, just to get a Sky Suite. I can't imagine anything that would make the extra expense worth it. Both cruises were 14 days times $100+ per day, times two passengers, comes to $2,800+ per cruise.

Looking fwd to our B2B in YC

Reviews of YC are consistently positive so we feel it is worth branching out from Celebrity a bit.

We have enjoyed Blu and are sailing a Cel B2B in Sept-- one sailing in Aq for blu and then the next in Concierge with a large specialty package to enjoy Murano etc.

From reviews it sounds like YC will close to Aqua/Blu

 

[helen haywood]

I am Elite Plus on Celebrity and have also sailed on MSC Divina both in a regular balcony and in the Yacht Club.  One MSC benefit that hasn't been mentioned is that the Yacht Club's dining room serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, port or sea.  Celebrity's Luminae only serves lunch on sea days.  Also MSC's menu changes daily.  

[cruisingnewtoit]

On Sumitt for the most part I thought the food was average. X did excel at cooking veggies I'm a vegan so that's important. If MSC can't do that right not sure about them. But I love brick oven pizza with no cheese.

 

I can't stand kids running all over the place I didn't know they sailed for free. I probably can't afford YC. Maybe on a sale.

 

Great reviews.

[grandgeezer]

4 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

Nice review, thanks.

 

We have friends that did MSC (not the Yacht Club) and said never again.  They said the food was AWFUL.

 

I can't comment on the food (not Yacht Club) but from what I saw and heard, the Yacht Club is our only option on MSC. The ship is spectacular but outside the YC suite area we found it a bit crowded and noisy. They can't handle the masses like we feel the Oasis class ships on RCL does.

[PRH]

We’re booked into a YC Interior on the Seaview (sister to Seaside) this fall.  We enjoyed YC (other than the food in Le Muse) and because this is a very port intensive cruise, hopefully the much smaller cabin won’t be much bother.  Celebrity suites have skyrocketed in price so I doubt we’ll try that again.  I would rate YC above Aqua—and fingers crossed that the food will be better this time around on a different ship.  

[gimletgal]

7 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

 

We have friends that did MSC (not the Yacht Club) and said never again.  They said the food was AWFUL.

 

Since taste in food is so subjective, when someone states "the food is awful", I just take it with a grain of salt. What is good to some, may be awful to others.  ("Awful" has certainly not been my experience on 3 cruises with MSC - Divina (1) and Seaside (2).

Some things were just better than others.  Same goes for my experience with Celebrity.

[Fredric22]

We have experienced both Celebrity Suite Class and MSC Yacht Club (over 4 cruises in YC) and I can see that MSC YC beats Celebrity Suite Class hands down.  The food in Luminae was excellent but has since started to go downhill.  The food in the YC restaurant is very good, especially if you enjoy home-made pastas, risottos, and seafood dishes.  If you only eat meat you will find the choices a bit more limited.  One MAJOR plus for us is that MSC is constantly changing the menus in the YC restaurant.  We have been on 4 MSC cruises in the last 2 years and each cruise we have experienced a different menu in the YC restaurant.  That includes 7 unique lunch menus and 7 unique dinner menus (the YC restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the cruise regardless if it is a port day or sea day).  Celebrity changes their menus so infrequently I can usually recite what the menu will be before reading it.  MSC ships are beautiful and are extremely well maintained.  The crowd on MSC is a bit younger and perhaps more "rowdy" than Celebrity, however, the YC is a great retreat when you've had enough of the crowds. 

 

The Top Sail lounge is another far superior venue over Celebrity's suite lounges (perhaps with the exception of the Edge).  The lounges are beautiful spaces that overlook the front of the ship.  They are open all day and into the late night hours and offer a rotating array of breakfast, small bites, and desserts.  The Yacht Club pool deck also offers a full lunch buffet every day which carvings, fish, fresh pasta dishes made on demand, and impeccable service.  

 

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the Celebrity product and it is good to have variety (even the Yacht Club can get a bit repetitive).  But overall, with the way Celebrity has been pricing their suite class (especially on the Edge) I just can't justify the extra money for Celebrity.  I would be interested in trying Edge suite class once the prices come down (I see they are starting to get below the 4K mark) but they still have a ways to go before I pull the trigger.